Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in Spain, with gonorrhea cases up 42.6%

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have risen sharply last year. This is reflected in the latest report “Epidemiological Surveillance of Infections and Sexual Transmission in Spain 2023” by the Carlos III Institute of Public Health (ISCIII).

According to the definition proposed by ISCIII, STIs are a set of pathologies of infectious origin in which the main route of infection is sexual contact. Are caused by a variety of microorganisms and data are currently available on more than 20 STIs.

Last year alone, 36,983 cases of chlamydia were diagnosed, up 20.7% from the 34,401 cases of chlamydia two years earlier. gonorrhea, which increased by 42.6%and 10,879 syphilis, an increase of 24.1%.

The report data shows an increasing trend in the incidence of syphilis, congenital syphilis, gonococcal infection (gonorrhea), chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis) and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) over the past two decades.

For all infections there is a predominance of men over womensince 80% of cases of gonorrhea occur in men, 88% of syphilis, 98% of LGV and 53% of chlamydia.

Total growth

According to ISCIII, Since the 2000s, there has been an increasing trend in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections.especially in young men, although it is true that age varies depending on the disease. For example, chlamydia is more common in people under 25 years of age, in contrast to lymphogranuloma venereum.

Between 2021 and 2023, infections increased across the board, according to the report. Thus, gonococcal infection (gonorrhea) increased by 42.6% and syphilis 24.1%. Additionally, the incidence of chlamydia also increased by 20.7% between 2016 and 2023.

“Before the pandemic, we saw an increase in incidence, although it has accelerated since then,” says Asunción Díaz, a researcher at the Carlos III Institute of Health, during an interview on “Finally.” According to the researcher there have been “changes in behavior at the population level. Today, compared to previous decades, social relations are different.”

This change, along with other factors such as early access to pornographic content or lack of comprehensive sexuality education These are some of the reasons why the number of STIs has increased in recent years.

Researcher Diaz reminds us that “not all sexual relationships are associated with STIs,” although she emphasizes that “there are studies that indicate that Condom use is declining in certain age groupsand other methods of protection.

Gonorrhea

Since 2001, when the incidence was 2.04%, gonorrhea has not stopped growing until it reached rate 71.54% in 2023when 34,401 cases were detected, which is 42.6% higher than in 2021.

Syphilis

There were cases of syphilis in 10,879 in 2023raising the rate to 22.62%. This corresponds to a percentage deviation of 24.1% compared to 2021.

Chlamydia

Chlamydia, an STI that was later taken into account (2015), 36,983 cases have been reported.At the same time, the incidence was 78.9%, with men (85.97%) having higher rates than women (72.09%). By age, the highest rates are from 20 to 24 years (387.72) and from 25 to 34 years (258.34).

LGV

According to communities that monitor people living with HIV, there were 1807 cases with an incidence rate of 4.32%.